Boys still way behind at Key Stage 1

Girls are beating boys in all four Key Stage 1 subjects, statistics show.

The gap was highest for writing. 87% of girls reached level 2, compared to 75% of boys.

Among Black Caribbean pupils the gap in achievement between boys and girls is even bigger, with only 67% of boys achieving the expected level compared to 83% of girls.

In maths the gap was smaller with 91% of all girls and 88% of all boys reaching at least level 2.The attainment gap between girls and boys has been getting bigger in science, writing and maths since 2006 but in reading it has narrowed slightly.

Overall, teacher assessments at Key Stage 1 show children are at almost the same level as last year. But there are big differences between different groups of pupils.

Children who speak English as an additional language not surprisingly did less well in all four subjects than children whose first language is English, but their marks have been gradually improving over recent years.

Children who are eligible for free school meals do much worse at Key Stage 1 than other children in all subjects. The biggest gap is in writing, where they are nearly 19% behind, though there is evidence that the gap has been gradually closing.

Key Stage 1 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics, in England 2008/09

Girls outshining boys on computers too

Girls have better computer skills than boys, according to research conducted by Tesco Computers for Schools.

Girls were more likely than boys to be able to successfully complete tasks such as finding what they needed using a search engine, or creating a document.

Only six per cent of girls said they lacked confidence using computers, compared to 10 per cent of boys.

However, both boys and girls were more tech-savvy than their parents, 57 per cent of whom relied on their children for advice on using the computer and internet.

More male teachers "won't improve boys' achievement"

Having more male primary school teachers and using ‘boy-friendly’ methods of teaching will not boost boys’ educational results, a government report has found.

It was believed that these strategies might help to close the gap between boys’ and girls’ results.

However the report, published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families concluded the approach to be ‘simplistic’, and found little difference between the learning patterns of boys and girls.

The report stated: “This finding is in line with other research suggesting that teachers have low expectations of boys’ academic potential and such low expectations could contribute to their low achievement.”

84% of primary school teachers are female.